It has been 2 weeks ++ since my last post. Things have been terribly terribly crazy for me. There's my Salsa Exam on 21 Oct, then my birthday on 22 Oct, then the Capoeira Workshop which started on 23 Oct and in 3 days in a row, then there's all the wedding preparation which I only have weekends to settle, my working days have been hectic as there are several events coming up in November which are in Turkey & Africa and there a loads of work to be done. So no nothing much can be settled during weekdays....

Anyway, today's post is not about details on how hectic my life has been. It is about how I am so frustrated that I'm not being heard and not being able to say things that I want to say. And not being able to get the other party to listen and understand what you're trying to say, is very very frustrating indeed. I would be like "Are you even listening to what I'm saying???" and if they say yes, then, why did they still get the wrong idea?? Am I telling it wrongly, or am I not speaking clearly? Or even in worst case scenario -you not being able to speak at all!! As the other person is so keen of talking that they did not even gave you the chance of replying/talking back. Then you started doubting yourself -maybe I am wrong, maybe I did not speak out my point clearly otherwise how did this misunderstanding/argument occured? After countless nights of wondering why, why, why, Thank God, suddenly today, this article fell down to my "lap" ;) On what is the difference between listening and hearing. I hope this article can benefit you the same way it benefit me. :) Here's for a better understanding and better communication in life...

How many times have you been frustrated by someone who is not listening to what you are saying? How many times have you frustrated others by not listening to them?

People tend to think that listening is the same as hearing, but the truth is, listening is hearing PLUS understanding.

Often times during a conversation we jump in to say what is on our minds even before we acknowledge or register what the other person is saying. This ‘butting-in’ short circuits the possibility of a mutual understanding between you and the other speaker, even if you did not deliberately set out to break the flow of conversation.

How do you know when a person is not listening? It is usually easy to sense this. Tell-tale signs are poor eye contact, shuffling feet, busy hands, and meaningless replies like, “That’s interesting…”, “Oh really?”, “Uh huh…” etc. A fake listener’s lack of interest in the conversation can also reflect an even more annoying reality – his or her lack of interest in the speaker.

Most people don't listen with the intent to understand, but listen only with the intent to reply. Even at work, where performance takes priority over relationships, listening carefully to understand the other person's point of view before you even think about replying is the key to productive communication.

Careful listening is difficult and takes practice to improve. Next time you get into a conversation, try to ‘care enough’ to understand what the other person is saying.